Damascus, May 22 (IANS/DPA) Syria’s first lady, Asma al-Assad, has been diagnosed with leukaemia, the Syrian presidency said.

“After the appearance of several clinical symptoms and signs, followed by a series of medical examinations and tests, First Lady Asma al-Assad was diagnosed with acute leukaemia,” the Presidential office said on Tuesday in a statement.

The statement said she would undergo a specialised treatment protocol that requires her to isolate.

Asma al-Assad, 48, said in 2019 that she had fully recovered from breast cancer.

Last year she accompanied her husband on an official trip to the United Arab Emirates, the first known trip of this kind for her since 2011.

The mother of three children and former investment banker was born in London in 1975 to Syrian parents.

The question had arisen several times in the media as to why she did not leave Syria because of the civil war that began in 2011.

Her husband Bashar al-Assad is accused of war crimes such as the use of poison gas and torture.

–IANS/DPA

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Tel Aviv, May 22 (IANS/DPA) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told US media that Israel has no plans to build settlements in the Gaza Strip once the war there is over.

“Resettling Gaza… was never in the cards,” Netanyahu said in an interview with the US broadcaster CNN on Tuesday.

“Some of my constituents are not happy about it, but that’s my position.”

Several of the right-wing nationalist Ministers in Netanyahu’s coalition had repeatedly spoken out in favour of resettling the Gaza Strip with Jewish settlers. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir even declared on Tuesday that he would like to live there himself.

As soon as Palestinian militant organisation Hamas is defeated, sustainable demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip must be achieved, Netanyahu told CNN, adding that “the only force that can prevent the resurgence of terrorism for the foreseeable future is Israel”.

“At the same time we want — I want — a civilian administration that is run by Gazans who are neither Hamas nor committed to our destruction.”

On Saturday, Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war Cabinet, said that he and other members of his centre-right National Union Party would leave Netanyahu’s government if the Prime Minister did not present a plan for the post-war order in the Gaza Strip by June 8.

The 64-year-old retired Army General and former Defence Minister joined the war Cabinet as a Minister without portfolio.

The parties involved sought to demonstrate national unity in the wake of the attacks led by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7, in which more than 1,200 people were killed. The unprecedented attack triggered the Gaza war as Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive.

The National Union is an opposition party. In opinion polls, it is currently far ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud party.

Netanyahu has previously said he wanted the territory to remain under Israeli military control for the foreseeable future. So far, he has refused to present a plan for the administration and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after the end of the war.

–IANS/DPA

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Geneva, May 22 (IANS) Head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has asked Israel to lift blockade on medical supplies into Gaza, saying nearly 700 seriously ill patients are stuck in a war zone.

“Crossings from Egypt into Gaza have remained closed for two weeks, cutting off the primary pipeline for emergency health supplies into Gaza,” the WHO Director-General told a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.

Tedros described the situation in Gaza as “beyond catastrophic,” adding that intense hostilities near Gaza’s hospitals have compromised their ability to provide medical care and made it harder for patients to reach, Xinhua news agency reported.

As only two functional hospitals are remaining in northern Gaza, the WHO Chief said it is imperative to ensure their ability to deliver health services.

However, he also lamented that the UN’s health agency cannot sustain its lifesaving support to hospitals and the population without more aid flowing into Gaza.

The WHO and its partners have managed to deliver small amounts of fuel to hospitals in recent days, but this falls far short of the large quantity of fuel that is needed each day for health operations.

–IANS

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Ankara, May 22 (IANS) Turkey has launched a passport-free policy for Romanian citizens, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Turkey will allow Romanian citizens to enter its borders with their IDs, said Erdogan on Tuesday at a joint press conference with visiting Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.

“We believe that our human relations will improve this way,” the Turkish President added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

On Tuesday, Erdogan and Ciolacu attended the Turkey-Romania High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting in Ankara.

Erdogan said that the Turkey-Romania bilateral trade volume exceeded $10 billion for two consecutive years, adding that the goal is $15 billion.

Ciolacu, for his part, thanked Erdogan for the decision to grant visa exemption to Romanian citizens for their tourist trips and transit to Turkey.

In a post released on the social platform of X, the Romanian Prime Minister said his government will consolidate its role as a key partner of Turkey in major fields and further facilitate the dialogue on Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

During his strip, Romania and Turkey signed six important agreements covering cooperation in various fields, including cooperation in tourism, urbanism, and training of police forces.

–IANS

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Helsinki, May 22 (IANS) The Finnish government has submitted to Parliament a controversial bill that would authorise pushing back asylum seekers at the eastern border and would also allow for the use of force.

As parts of the bill are not in line with either the Finnish Constitution, European Union (EU) legislation, or international agreements Finland holds, the bill will require a large majority of five-sixths in Parliament, Xinhua news agency reported.

Under the proposed law, Finland could suspend the reception of applications for international protection (asylum) for one month at a time. Migrants who have already crossed the border could be pushed back, or advised to go to a location where they can apply. Border guards will be allowed to use force, but they will also have the authority to decide on exceptional entry for asylum-seekers in real danger.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told a press conference on Tuesday that he believes the bill will be supported by Parliament.

The proposed bill was widely debated in Finland during the spring and drew criticism from legal scholars and ministries.

The Ministry of Justice said that Finland cannot “through its national legislation unilaterally break the international obligations” it has adopted.

The leaders of Finland’s largest Opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, have said they will await the position of the parliamentary constitutional committee before deciding whether to support the bill.

Finland does not have a constitutional court, but its parliamentary constitutional committee plays a similar role.

–IANS

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